Beauty & Spas in Westchase

Keeping client satisfaction at the forefront of its mission, the Avalon Med Spa and Laser Center recently underwent a complete overhaul that included acquiring the award-winning G.M. Collin product line, as well as a new therapist, physician, and staff. A medical director and board certified-internist leads a team of professionals, including one member with certification in aesthetic medicine, and special training in medical informatics. The wide-reaching expertise of its staff enables Avalon Med Spa to deliver a varied menu of aesthetic services that includes everything from laser hair removal to teeth whitening, Botox, and body wraps.

Devoted to bettering the patient experience, the center also nestles clients into a relaxing environment replete with plush couches and a waiting lounge done up in warm, neutral tones. Hardwood floors lead clients back to a private treatment room, where the elegant décor relaxes with furnishings such as draped, olive-green curtains, frosted sconces, and a wall waterfall that trickles out droplets harvested from the fountain of youth.:m]]

After losing her young daughter to a nervous system disorder, Molly Snow chose to dedicate her life to helping other families to overcome the physical and emotional consequences of medical conditions. Her experiences with unsuccessful surgeries and medical procedures steered her away from that field and toward alternative, non-Western therapies. While training for her massage license, Molly encountered craniosacral therapy for the first time. “As soon as I heard about it and took my first class,” she recalls, “I knew that I had to commit myself to it full time.”

Molly’s initial attraction to craniosacral therapy was based on claims that it could help relieve major neurological issues. By applying gentle pressure to blocked sites, she learned, a therapist could potentially rekindle communication between nerves. After training further and witnessing her patients’ relief, Molly became convinced that this therapy could have saved her daughter’s life.

This powerful knowledge continues to inspire her work at Neos Massage. Clients of all ages and conditions visit her for light bodywork treatments, during which they can remain fully clothed. A holistic healer at heart, Molly strives to “bring the outside in” by leaving a window open.

Setting foot through Savvy Salon's large double doors, visitors find themselves immersed in the dancing twinkle of an enormous chandelier. The space's lofty ceilings and expansive walls resonate with a warm, pearl hue, punctuated by four-sided, freestanding styling stations furnished with a mirror on each corner to let newly styled clients admire their hair on one side and an alternate dimension on the other. Coif curators diligently snip and style damp locks, flaunting a variety of tress-transforming services such as coloring, keratin applications, perms, and blowouts. Inside private rooms splashed with golden flourishes, aestheticians analyze skin before recommending and performing any of more than eight facial services, each customized to meet the needs of all skin types.

As a young man, John McKenna realized he had a talent for hairstyling, eventually moving from New York to the beaches of Florida to open his own salon. In addition to transforming the hair of clients ranging from mothers to teens, McKenna styled Miss Tampa's hair and won a reader-nominated runner-up award in 2010's Best of the Bay. Within his European-style salon, an exposed-brick accent wall adds a splash of warmth to furniture's sleek design, much like the cardigans that zoologists fit over the cheetahs they study. Behind their stations, certified color specialists paint tresses with golden highlights or lowlights and cover grays with Matrix honey-based color cream, which the salon guarantees will completely mask the offending strands. Stylists consult with clients before taking the first scissors swipes, determining the best shapes, lengths, and hues to fit each client's style. McKenna personally assures clients that "how you look is as important to us as it is to you."

Before the start of each client’s service, Gina Vincelli brings them cups of organic tea as they sit on plush, vintage chairs in a private lounge, the walls of which are washed in light blues and chocolate browns. After years of working in an impersonal med-spa environment where doctors performed injections and lifts without getting to know their patients, she decided to shift her focus toward one-on-one treatment in holistic health care. Gina has channeled this passion for mind-and-body wellness into Awaken Organic Skincare & Boutique, distancing herself from a traditional clinical approach with organic formula-based facials, body treatments, waxing, and salon services. To relax clients, she fills the spa with aromatherapy scents such as lavender, eucalyptus, orange, and bergamot, varying the scents based on the season. She also fills the lobby with music and varies the tunes—from nature-inspired spa music to coffeehouse jazz—based on her current clientele.

Gina's staff of therapists executes noninvasive treatments, such as Beautiful Image facial and body sculpting, during which a small electric current runs through skin in need of toning. Shirodhara sessions drip a stream of warm sesame oil onto the patient’s forehead for a relaxing effect. Staff members also administer organic facials with Hylunia skincare formulas, which are free of parabens, perfumes, dyes, and preservatives to keep skin cleaner than Elmo's criminal record. To promote continuing skincare, the in-spa boutique's dark wooden cabinets are filled with homemade soaps, essential oils, and Jane Iredale mineral makeup, which aestheticians can match to clients' skin tone during free applications. Following a recent expansion, the spa now contains private showers for washing up after facials as well as an infrared sauna for covertly thawing pints of ice cream.